Why Viego is and always will be a League of Legends balance nightmare

Jaxon Published August 13, 2022

Riot Games has been famous for releasing controversial champions that turn out as very hard to balance, but the story of Viego is one of a kind.

Even Yuumi and Zeri have a hard time keeping up with how unbalanced Viego has been and how much Riot has struggled to find the sweet spot for him.

The Ruined King had one of the most hyped introductions the game has ever seen, with lots of lore and a big event surrounding his release.

This didn’t make him any less popular, but let’s be honest, the reason why Viego has been played so much up until this point is because of how broken he has been in specific periods.

A challenging kit makes a challenging champion

Right as Viego was released, he turned out to be a broken champion.

Not only in solo queue, but especially in professional play, where he was instantly picked up by most junglers to exploit when they got the chance.

It was clear that Viego would be a balancing nightmare, as his kit is so unique that it can only turn into a complete mess.

He is one of those champions that will either be overpowered or unplayable when in a nerfed state.

This is also why he has been in and out of the professional meta as Riot is still struggling to find a “happy place” for him.

The worst part about Viego is the resets from his Heartbreaker ultimate, which has been the main character in many crazy outplays on the professional stage.

[youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udBJbIea_3E”]

While an outplay like Kacper “Inspired” Słoma’s Viego penta-kill is extremely hype, it’s also one of many examples of why Viego is a balance nightmare and super unhealthy for the game when he is in one of his strong states.

Remember T1’s Mun “Oner” Hyeon-jun styling on G2 Esports at MSI 2022? That’s another example for the books.

Top that with the fact that he can turn into any champion for a short period, Riot has put themselves in a nasty spot and isn’t making it easy on themselves.

Did we forget to mention his camouflage from Harrowed Path (W)? Yes, that’s just another layer of icing on the cake.

[youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNrsD0GIEjI”]

Will Riot ever find the sweet spot for Viego?

The question everyone probably wants to be answered at this point is whether Viego will ever land in a sweet spot where he isn’t too broken or too underpowered.

It’s hard to answer, but based on his kit and how Riot has been handling it so far, it seems unlikely.

Maybe he is destined to be a champion like Master Yi that can’t seem to land in a good spot. It could result in Viego getting nerfed to the ground and disappearing from the meta for a long time at some point.

Because who wants a broken Ruined King to “ruin” games for more than a patch or two?

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